Read the article, "Ensuring Drivers Get Home Safe" on the following page. Evaluate the

business idea using the VRIO framework: your friend wants to start a new business and his parent gave him one million baht to open his new business. He likes U Drink I Drive Business Model (professional driver for your car initially when you cannot drive your car back home on a heavy party night) and he wants to buy the license to open the same business in his country (he came from the same country as yours). He has asked you for your opinion about whether he should invest in this concept. He also shows you the interview article about U Drink I Drive. Conduct a VRIO analysis and state your recommendation to your friend. The article starts below:

Ensuring drivers get home safe

They say there is a time for everything, and the time seems to be now for two young, smart-looking women to start their own company helping potentially drunk drivers return home safely. Sirasom Borisutsuwan, Apinara Srikarnchana and their friends co-founded U Drink I Drive, offering drivers on demand to late-night party people. The once struggling company is now thriving, ensuring that some 3,000 clients a month don't get behind the wheel of a car after having one too many drinks. While a similar business model has been available in other countries like Singapore, South Korea and Australia, the concept is new to Thailand. "The idea was initiated from a thesis of mine and my teammate during my master's in business and managerial economics at Chulalongkorn University. We

wanted to find a business model that can help reduce traffic fatalities, especially to be a solution to drunk driving," said Sirasom, co-founder and CEO. At that time in 2014, Thailand had the third-highest number of road traffic fatalities according to the "global status report on road safety" report, produced by the World Health Organization. The country moved to second in the latest report in 2015, according to the WHO. About 40% of traffic accidents occurred because of drunk driving, Sirasom said. Based on

her thesis research, Sirasom found that 68% of the 300 participants drove drunk because they did not want to leave their cars behind. Participants told her they would be willing to use a driver service that would navigate their own vehicles home.

After graduation, Sirasom believed her business plan was something that could "save people's lives", she said. She and her friends established the self-funding company in 2014 through strong passion and moral

support from her family and an initial investment of 1 million baht. At that time, she was 23 years old

and had little experience running a company.

Initially, customers confused her business concept with Uber and similar offerings. They had trouble

understanding why they should allow other people to drive their beloved vehicles, she said. To promote

their company, the co-founders camped outside pubs and restaurants in Thong Lor and Ekamai and

concert halls handing out brochures and vouchers to potential customers. They formed alliances with

organizations and companies that promote road safety. They also displayed posters in toilets at high-end

nightlife venues.

Sirasom and Apinara regard their service as a social enterprise, a business that can help change society

for the better. Starting with one driver, the company today employs 80 drivers, 35 of whom are full time

and stationed at their Asok office and area restaurants during the week. Other drivers work part-time on

Friday and Saturday. They also have female drivers to service their female clients. Their total monthly

bookings have jumped from 500 trips a month in the first year to about 3,000 trips a month today. "Our

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customers increase 30% monthly. Eight out of 10 are repeat customers," Apinara said. The company

also expanded its partnerships with various establishments, including restaurants, alcohol companies, car

distributors, government agencies and foundations.

Each driver is required to wear a video camera over one ear to record everything he or she does. Each

video is deleted after 24 hours to guarantee customer privacy. The driver has to turn on the GPS mode

on their mobile phone to give the real-time position of their vehicles. In case of doubt, staff at the call

center will call the driver to check if he or she needs help.

"Technology helps us a lot. It makes our customers feel safe," Apinara said. The driver has a right to

discontinue service for their safety. Extreme cases include a drunk customer who took out his gun to

play with inside the car and a pair of lovers who fought each other in the back seat. U Drink I Drive also

partners with Asia Insurance to provide first-class car insurance for every trip. Fortunately, no serious

accidents have occurred during the past three years, except for some minor scratching, said Apinara.

U Drink I Drive also provides training for its drivers through the Limousine Express Group. Each driver

must wear a uniform and neon blue jacket. They must have at least five years of driving experience and

must not have a criminal record. In addition, the drivers must also attend in-house training to know the

basic functions of executive cars including BMW and Mercedes Benz, and even supercars. The training

helps drivers feel comfortable behind the wheel of an expensive vehicle they would otherwise never

have the opportunity to drive. "We never thought that we would have customers who ask us to drive

supercars like Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porshes," she said.

U Drink I Drive plans to expand its chauffeur service from night hours to 24 hours a day. The aim is to

be a center for drivers on demand, said Sirasom. Everything has its own time and this year seems to be

the right time for businesses like U Drink I Drive. Its revenue increased to 20-million-baht last year and

is expected to double to 40 million baht this year. The CEO also plans to expand the business model to

other countries in the region.

"When we started the business three years ago, no one knew who we were and what we did. We

gradually built up our business with trust. Today we can stand on our own feet. Our sweat paid off.

Above all, we are proud to be one of solutions for those who drink and do not drive," she said.

**Source: Bangkok Post, PUBLISHED : 18 JUL 2016 AT 04:30**